Join Friends in Faith as we travel to New Jersey June 4th- 14th, 2013!

We will be volunteering with Lutheran Disaster Response in an area that was affected by Superstorm Sandy. Working side by side with the residents, we will help to rebuild their community.
There will also be a couple of days that we will be able to spend time at the beach and do some sight-seeing. This is a trip that you won’t want to miss! Trip Brochure

Word of the Day: Accept

Read: Matthew 15:21-28
Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

Discuss:
1. Why was this woman looked down on? Why did she compare herself to a dog?
2. Are there groups in school or in your life that would be considered “dogs”? What makes the dogs? How are they usually treated?
3. Do you think others think of you as a “dog” when that’s how you see them?
4. What is meant by “it is not right to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs”?
5. What are some ways we can show compassion to all groups of people?

Read: Ephesians 2:13-14
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.

Discuss:
1. What are the walls that divide people, groups, friendships, etc.?
2. How can we break down the dividing walls that hurt relationships?

Prayer:
Dear God, Help us to be open to the beauty of God’s message for all people. Give us courage to make an effort not to shut out those who are different from us. Amen.

Word for the Day: Thirst

Read: John 4:7-30
A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”
Jesus said to her, “Go call your husband, and come back.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” Jesus said to her,”Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father is spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God in spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”
Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” They left the city and were on their way to him.

Discuss:
1. What do you thirst for? What is missing in your life?
2. Re-read the 1st sentence. How did Jesus meet the woman where she is and not try to change her right away?
3. How can we make others feel welcome? Who has made you feel welcome?
4. What do you think “Living Water” is? How do you know the Living Water in your life?

Prayer:
Dear God, Thank you for welcoming us and for the promise of living water. Help us to reach out to others as Jesus did for the woman at the well. Amen!

Word of the Day: Relationships

Read: Luke 10:38-42

As they continued their travel, Jesus entered a village. A woman by the name of Martha welcomed him and made him feel quite at home. She had a sister, Mary, who sat before the Master, hanging on every word he said. But Martha was pulled away by all she had to do in the kitchen. Later, she stepped in, interrupting them. “Master, don’t you care that my sister has abandoned the kitchen to me? Tell her to lend me a hand.” The Master said, “Martha, dear Martha, you’re fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it- it’s the main course, and won’t be taken from her.”

Discuss:
1. Are you more of a Martha or a Mary? Are you sometimes both? Why- How?
2. What are the distractions of your life? What do you get so busy with that you aren’t able to pay attention to some things you should?
3. What does Jesus mean by the “main course”?
4. Are you obtaining your ‘main course’? If not, what is holding you back?
5. What is Jesus hoping we will discover through the story of Martha and Mary?

Prayer:
Gracious God, We thank you for your presence in our life. Help us to have the courage to live in love. Give us hearts that can forgive, hearts that can include and spirits that can do what you call us to do. Amen.

Word for the Day: Unconditional

Read: Matthew 5:43-48
“You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God- created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best- the sun to warm and the rain to nourish- to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.
“In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it, Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.

John 4:7-10
My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love- so you can’t know him if you don’t love. This is how God showed his love for us. God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about- not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God.

Discuss:
1. What gets in the way of love? For others? For God?
2. What are some ways we can overcome the obstacles?
3. What is your definition of an enemy? Do you have any enemies?
4. What does unconditional love mean for you? How do you receive or share unconditional love?
5. How will you try to share unconditional love today?

Prayer:
Gracious God, We thank you for your presence in our life. Help us to always know and never forget you are present in all that happens in our lives. Strengthen us with the courage to live in love. Give us hearts that can forgive, hearts that can include and spirits that can do what you call us to do. Amen.

If you are thinking of going to an ELCA college next year, did you know that you could receive a scholarship from Trinity? Check out the attached link for an application and more information.http://www.trinitymhd.org/ScholarshipApplication.pdf

We hope all of you had a wonderful and blessed Christmas! We are so excited to start all of our 7-12th graprograms again today, Wednesday, January 2nd. We hope to see you tonight!

FiF Reunion- All current and former FiF youth and adults are invited to join us for a reunion tonight in the youth room starting at 8pm! See you there!

Thank you to everyone who helped make this opportunity possible!

Thank you again to everyone who helped! Together we were able to create over 100 boxes!

This Sunday, November 11th, at 10:05am in the Youth Room, Friends in Faith will be assembling boxes for Operation Christmas Child. Please join us for this amazing experience! We invite you to bring what you can, and if you are unable to bring anything, we would love for you to bring yourself and help pack some boxes.

What can you do to help?
– Bring a shoebox to the youth room
– Monetary donation (it costs $7 to ship one box)
– Bring something to put in the boxes
– Small/ soft stuffed animals                        – Hard candy that won’t melt
– Small toys (balls, jump ropes, marbles, puzzles, cars, clay)
– Stocking caps, socks, shirts
– Toothbrushes/ toothpaste
– Soap and wash cloths
– Paper/ notebooks, pencils and sharpeners, pens, crayons, markers, etc.
– Flashlights and batteries

If you want to put your own shoebox together and ship it with ours, please bring your box to the youth room by 10:45am this Sunday.

We hope you can join us!

Watch the slideshow from this year’s Stockholders Banquet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NI0Wuewos4Y&feature=g-upl

Thank you to eveyone who supported us on our New Orleans Youth Gathering Trip!!